


Finding our truth in a hope of doubt

by TDaL



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Full Shift Werewolves, M/M, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 16:35:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TDaL/pseuds/TDaL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stilinski Wolf Preserve is the number one wolf preserve in the Western U.S. Founded by Claudia Stilinski and her husband, it is known for its open door policy and refusal to turn any wolf or wolf hybrid away. When Claudia passed away, her husband and son kept it going in her honor. </p><p>Now 18, Stiles has taken on the task of checking on the wild wolf packs that his mother had observed in the wild. After finding her files for a pack that he remembers being his mother’s favorite, he takes a trip into wild territory where he finds a pack that isn’t what it seems and secrets about his mother’s family that are like something out of fiction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding our truth in a hope of doubt

**Author's Note:**

> So many thanks to ldyghst! Your [amazing art](http://ldyghst.livejournal.com/224834.html) really inspired me and I loved writing a story to go along with it. Also many thanks to the mods of the Teen Wolf Reverse Big Bang for organizing this challenge!
> 
> Beta'd by my darling friend Nicole, who gave me the best constructive criticism and let me bounce wayward ideas at her head when I know how busy she is.
> 
> WARNING: Description of a panic attack. ALSO NEVER APPROACH WOLVES THE WAY STILES DOES. I don't have to be an expert to say that Stiles approaching the pack like that is very dangerous and stupid. This isn't a how-to guide.

 

 

 

  
                                                                         

It was midafternoon when Stiles finally found the time to sit down. Running a wolf preserve with his father and only a few volunteers was hard work. The Stilinski Wolf Preserve was the number one wolf preserve in the western United States. Years and years ago, his mother Claudia and his father John had opened the preserve just after they had married. They were well known for their open policies, which meant that they were willing to take in any wolf or wolf hybrid.

So it had been a great blow to not only to Stiles and his father, but the preserve as well when Claudia had been diagnosed with cancer and passed away when Stiles was eight years old. All Stiles could remember from that time was the unwavering grief and how uncertain his life was for weeks on end. His father worked at the sheriff’s department on the side to generate income to keep the preserve running because they were a private funded organization that relied on public donations. John had thrown himself into his work, leaving the preserve to be run by the volunteers and trusting them to watch Stiles.

The Stilinski’s lived in a large cabin right next to preserve entrance and all the other necessitated facilities. So Stiles often found himself spending his days walking around with the volunteers to help them take care of the wolves.

The preserve covered vast acres in Northern California and it was certainly needed with how many animals they took care of. The biggest pen was home to a pack of ten wolves and there were other smaller pens that held the hybrids or lone wolves that weren't accepted into any of the packs in the preserve.

As Stiles helped around he had gotten very attached to an older wolf hybrid named Jimmy. At one point Jimmy had been a pet, but when the authorities caught wind of someone owning a wolf hybrid, which was illegal, his owner had begged Claudia to take his loyal companion in.

It had been a normal day of Stiles walking around, carrying things for the volunteers and helping them around when they stopped at Jimmy's pen to feed him. Because he had been a pet for most of his life, none of the volunteers worried too much when they entered his enclosure. But on this particular day the old dog slipped passed the volunteer when she opened the gate and immediately made his way to Stiles. Of course the volunteer immediately turned around to stop Jimmy, but by that time the dog had already reached the young boy. They stared at each other for a moment before Jimmy huffed and sat down next to Stiles, pawing his leg and nudging his hand to try and get him to pet him. Needless to say Stiles had broken down and sobbed into the hybrid’s fur and Jimmy just patiently let him cry out his sorrows. After that the two of them had been close companions until Jimmy passed away from old age when Stiles was thirteen years old. Even now there still was a picture of a nine-year old Stiles hugging Jimmy on his nightstand.

Stiles was idly going through the mail that had come in earlier that day, sorting them out as junk and bills when the door opened and his father stepped in. John was still wearing his Sheriff’s uniform so he must have just come back from a late night at work. Stiles saw that he was carrying a big box filled with files and he got up to take the box from his father and placed it on the table.

"Holy crap. How much stuff is in here anyways?"

Stiles opened the lid of the box as his father walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink. With it being summer it was important for everyone to stay hydrated, so Stiles had spent the entire morning making sure all of the wolves were ready for another hot day. He reached in and grabbed one of the files, pausing when he recognized his mother’s stylized handwriting on the label.

John leaned against the doorframe, sipping at his water. "With you being eighteen and all, I thought it was about time you took a look at this stuff."

His hands shook a little as he opened the file. Inside there was a notebook, worn from use and a lot of different papers and pictures as well. Stiles grabbed one of the pictures and frowned when he saw an unfamiliar wolf standing in a type of bush that sure wasn't in their preserve. The label on the back read 'Claudio, alpha Castillo pack in New Mexico.'.

Immediately Stiles recognized what the files were. Every two months or so, his mother went out to other preserves or national parks to check on wild wolf packs. Stiles assumed that someone else had taken over when she passed away, but it made him giddy to actually be able to see her work and understand everything that went into it. He greedily leaned over the box to take all of the folders out so he could look them at all of them.

John sat down at the table and Stiles plopped down next to him, eagerly opening the next folder to see which other packs she had studied. "Your mother always loved going out on these trips. You never liked that she left though, but she always brought something along for you when she came back."

Stiles remembered that with a smile. "Yeah, I still have a box filled with little knickknacks that she got me."

One of the folders caught his eye. Mostly because it was so thick, but also because the name on it rang a bell. He pulled it over and he could see that his dad was looking at it too. "Oh, the Hale pack. Now that was definitely her favorite pack. She was always talking about her visits and the different pack members. She talked about them as if they were human, but apparently she'd been keeping track of this pack since she was a young girl."

It was clear that this pack was indeed her favorite. Stiles stared at the label. The name 'Hale' made something reverberate inside of him. He opened the folder and started taking out its contents. There was so much documentation that the other folder which contained the information on the other packs combined couldn't compete with the amount of stuff that was in this folder. Some of the notebooks were visibly older and some of the pictures were Polaroid’s and there was even a canister with film.

Stiles picked up one of the Polaroid’s and read the bottom. 'Cecilia. Hale pack Alpha 1985' His mom had only been fourteen at the time this picture had been taken. There was an envelope for every year that she has gone, packets wrapped with elastic to show every visit in those given years. Stiles was surprised to see how often she had gone. Some of the envelopes were near bursting with pictures.

He reached out and grabbed the most recent one. The Polaroid’s had changed to pictures by then and there was a loose leaf that had been torn out of a notepad. On it were names and descriptions of the pack members. The wolves were categorized by mates, family members and offspring. Stiles couldn't help but feel a pit in his stomach at the sight of several of the names crossed out with red ink. It always saddened him when the wolves here passed away, he couldn't imagine how his mother felt when she went out to see her favorite pack and discover that they had one less member.

"Of course, but only if you're careful."

Stiles looked up in surprise. He hadn't said anything at all so he had no idea what his father was talking about.

John just had an encouraging smile on his face. "I can tell that you're burning with curiosity about all of this. You've got that same look on your face that Claudia always had when she wanted to go out."

"Really? You're just going to let me go out to find a pack of wolves?"

"You're probably going to eventually. I trust that you know your facts about how to stay safe and how to treat these wolves with respect. I can get in touch with the park rangers, maybe Stefan is still a ranger… I used to talk with that man a lot when your mother went out there." The sheriff simply leaned back in his chair and scratched the side of his jaw as he spoke, obviously already making plans.

Stiles was practically wiggling in his chair in excitement. Beside him, John had already gotten up and grabbed an old address book and was looking through it to find the number for the Rangers. The thought of actually going out into the wilderness to observe a wolf pack in Oregon was so exciting, but this pack had been his mother’s _favorite_ pack and that made him want to leap in joy.

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

It took another two agonizing long weeks before all of the details were sorted out and Stiles was finally set to leave. John had managed to get ahold of the Ranger he had been talking about and the two of them had spent hours on the phone figuring out details. Stiles was utterly relieved when he heard that the pack had remained in the general area instead of moving to a different territory. Apparently even the cabin that his mother had stayed in good enough shape for Stiles to stay in during his stay in the Fremont National Forest.

For a week and a half Stiles had walked around the park helping around like he normally did but now, on the day he was scheduled to leave, he was bouncing around to make sure that everything would be okay during his two week absence. It had taken John hours before he was able to grab Stiles by the shoulders and made him sit on the porch to calm down.

His provisions had been ready for a couple of days now. There were several big jugs of water and a lot of food because he would be hours away from civilization. Other than that he had his backpack, which he had filled with the Hale pack folder, his camera and what he hoped would be enough skittles to last him for two weeks.

His father had helped him put everything into the jeep and just before he was going to set out Stiles was sitting in the driver’s seat, his feet dangled out of the door as he fiddled with a necklace he had gotten from his mother just before she had died. It was a wolf claw necklace made of silver. As far as Stiles could remember the only time she had ever taken it off was when she had given it to him in the hospital. She told him about how it was a family heirloom that was very special and that he should never take it off. And he hadn't, in the ten years since his mother had passed away Stiles had never taken the necklace off.

"What if something goes wrong dad? What if the pack catches my scent on the wind and they keep hidden the entire time that I'm there?" Stiles fretted out loud. What if he wasn't suited to do the job that his mother had done for years?

John just reached out and squeezed his shoulder, giving him a little shake. "You're going to be just fine son. Don't worry."

After that he and his father hugged it out before he got into his jeep and drove off of preserve, starting on the three hour drive. Stiles could hardly contain his excitement when he had left Beacon County completely and he was on the highway heading towards Oregon.

The drive over was pretty easy, even more so because Stefan had emailed his father directions to get to the Ranger headquarters closest to where the pack was located. Without those he most certainly would have gotten hopelessly lost.

As he drove up the dirt road to the station, Stiles couldn't help but smile to himself. It was all so exciting and he couldn't wait to start this new experience that was so closely connected to his mother.

An older man in an Oregon Ranger uniform was standing on the porch of the building when Stiles pulled up. He got out of the car as the man walked down the steps to approach him. "So you must be John's boy. I'm Stefan. Dear lord, you look just like your mother."

Stiles was a bit flabbergasted at that response. Sure he had heard it before, but it had been a long time and not everyone reacted as openly as Stefan did.

"Thanks. I'm Stiles, but you already knew that." They reached out and shook hands.

Stefan chuckled and pointed towards the building. "Come on in. I'm sure you want a bit of a stretch before I get one of my boys to drive you out to the cabin.”

There were two trucks and an ATV all emblazoned with the Fremont National Forest logo. Stiles happily followed Stefan into the building when the older man started walking. He started gesturing around and telling Stiles some things about the part of the forest that they were in. He also told him how excited he had been when John had called him because he had fond memories of his mother and how passionate she had been about keeping the pack safe.

"After your mother passed away no one else really stepped up to the job. The state government is intrigued by the pack, but they don't care enough to actually pay someone to keep up with them regularly. And then things got a lot harder only a short while after." Stefan's expression darkened for a few moments before he shook it off and led Stiles into the kitchen. They sat down and had some iced tea and cherry pie, both home made by Stefan's wife, and talked some more.

It wasn't too long before two young men, who couldn't be more than two years older than Stiles, walked in. Now Stiles had seen an array of different movies and more than enough porn to know that pretty much everything depicted there was all fake, but the two guys that walked in didn't look like they were supposed to even be there. They looked more like models than Rangers. One of them had a chiseled facial structure with light brown hair and blue eyes, while the other had a tanned complexion with dark hair and eyes. Their gazes immediately went to Stiles and the guy with the impossible cheekbones scowled while the other walked over with a grin and- oh look at those dimples.

"Hey there, you must be Stiles. My name is Danny and he's Jackson. We've heard a lot about you and your connection to the local wolf pack."

Stiles reached out and shook Danny's hand, trying not to smile when he saw how Jackson's look had darkened. "It's nice to meet you. I'm not really all that much to talk about though. Let's just see if I can last two weeks in the middle of nowhere and not fall over a tree root and break my legs."

Danny laughed and Stiles laughed along with him. The young man sat down and sent Jackson a look before the other sat down as well.

"You should let me know when you're ready and want me to drive you out to the cabin."

Stiles looked over at the clock above the doorway and saw that it was already approaching five o'clock. Since it was summer it wouldn't get dark until later in the night, but Stiles wanted time to be able to settle in at the cabin and clean a bit if needed. "Maybe we should start getting ready and leave as soon as possible."

With that the four men got up and made their way outside to start piling all of his supplies onto the ATV. The road to the cabin was through the trees so there was no way for Stiles to actually drive his jeep over there. Stefan took a few moments to make sure that Stiles had enough supplies with him before he handed over a satellite phone. "Even if we can get reception here, the signal gets really spotty. If you need anything then give us a ring. We're on speed dial number one."

Stiles let himself be pulled into a hug before he climbed onto the ATV behind Danny. The young Ranger told him to hold on if it got too bumpy and they drove off.

Much like Stefan had done before, Danny filled the idle minutes of the trip telling Stiles about the forest and why he had become a Ranger. Apparently a couple of years back he and Jackson had been caught drinking on National Park property during the night and Jackson's father had managed to get them to do community work with the Rangers if it wasn't written up on their records. After a short time Danny loved the things that they did and eventually even Jackson agreed that he enjoyed it. So as soon as they had finished their community work they had signed up to join the Ranger program.

It didn't seem as if the hour drive had actually already gone by when Danny stopped and turned off the ATV. "Here we are. This is going to be your home for the next two weeks."

Stiles climbed off of the ATV and stretched a bit before he took a look at the little cabin. It looked good for the fact that it was only used once or twice a year. The vegetation growing around it was kind of starting to try and swallow the small building up, but he would be able to take care of getting rid of those by himself. Danny helped him carry his things into the cabin and they opened the windows to let fresh air flow through.

Stiles walked Danny back to the ATV once they were finished. "If you need anything then be sure to call us using the satellite phone."

"Of course. I might not have been on a trip like this in a long time, but I was like a regular Boy Scout when I was younger." Not really though. He had only lasted three weeks in Boy Scouts before he quit. After that his mother had taken him out on camping trips in the preserve, teaching him things about the forest and how to survive if need be.

"Don't get eaten alright? That's bad news for all of us." Danny joked before he climbed onto the ATV and drove off.

Stiles took in a deep breath, just relishing in the smells and sounds of the forest once Danny was gone. One look at his watch told him that he had more than enough time to go out and explore the area around the small cabin. He walked back inside and went to grab his camera and some maps that his mother had drawn of the area.

The cabin was just one large room. On one side there was a small fire place in which he would be able to cook or boil water if necessary. In the middle there was a table with a few mismatched chairs and on the far wall there was an old cot. It was a bit musty so Stiles had leaned the mattress against the side of the house so it could air out a bit. Outside there was an outhouse and that was it. Stiles couldn't help but adore it though. He could just imagine his mother sitting at the table with the fireplace on in the background as she wrote about the Hale pack. He'd gotten his own leather bound journal so he could write his own experiences in it.

Stiles set off with his camera, the maps and a can of pepper spray just in case he would need it. He started taking pictures of the local fauna, testing himself as he tried to remember what they all were and if they would be of any use to him or not. He got the occasional shot of a squirrel or a hawk perching on a branch high up in the trees, but there wasn't a lot of signs that there were too many larger animals in the vicinity at the moment.

He reached into his camera bag and grabbed a handful of skittles before shoving them all into his mouth. This made him chuckle under his breath and think back. When he had been in third grade and discovered skittles he had gotten into the habit of just putting all of them into his mouth at the same time. Separately the candies were good, but Stiles loved the mixed taste he got when he ate them all.

Two girls had been sitting across him during lunch then and one had scowled and scolded Stiles for not eating them like everyone else did and the other one had simply chuckled and asked if she could have a purple one. Stiles had gladly shared his skittles that day and gained two best friends. Lydia, with her strawberry blonde hair, green eyes and spitfire attitude filled into a 5'3 body, had been Stiles' crush for many years before he finally decided that they were better as best friends. Allison had a much quieter personality, but she was stunning with her dark hair and dimpled smile. To think that he scored two of the most beautiful and amazing women as best friends because of skittles was mind blowing. Since then skittles had always been his favorite candy.

He was startled out of his memories by loud rustling of some bushes in front of him. Stiles immediately ducked behind a tree and peered around it so he would be able to see what it was. A few seconds later a white muzzle peaked out from behind the bushes, followed by a fluffy head. Stiles was all too familiar with wolves, but this was the first time that he had actually ever seen one in the wild. He knew that he probably should have been freaking out with how close the wolf was, but he couldn't care less as he silently raised his camera and managed to take a few pictures as the wolf stepped out.

It sniffed along the ground and raised its nose to sniff the air before it paused and turned back into the direction it had come from. Stiles took a few minutes to look and listen around to make sure that the wolf hadn't stuck around before he stepped away from the tree. He held his camera in his hands like it was the Holy Grail before he turned and ran back to the cabin.

He nearly tripped over his own feet in excitement when he rushed over to the Hale pack folder. Opening his mother’s note with pack members Stiles looked through the list to see if he could match the description of this wolf. It had been amazing. A white wolf with brown and grey dusting on its face and flanks. Stiles grinned when he found a match. "Scott..." His heart pounded in his chest in excitement as he grabbed his phone and texted his father.

 **me (7:06pm):** I found them! Right where Mom's notes said they would be.

 **dad (7:08pm):** That’s fantastic. Be careful!

 **me (7:09pm):** Will do. Reception is spotty. Will text when I can.

 **dad (7:13pm):** Your mom would be proud, Stiles. Love you, son.

 **me (7:16pm):** :) Love you too, Dad.

 

 

 

 

 

When Stiles woke the next morning everything was still very surreal. It had taken him a few moments to remember where he was and why his bed was so lumpy, but when he did remember that he was in the cabin a big grin appeared on his face.

It was already pretty warm even if it was so early in the morning and Stiles decided to celebrate with one of the orange juice bottles he had brought along in a cooler. He sat down at the table with his juice, a muffin and an apple.

Before he had left home Stiles made sure to make several copies of the maps that his mother had drawn. He grabbed a red pencil and took a few moments to draw how far he had approximately walked the day before. It was hard to do, even if he knew about how far he had gone from the cabin and in which direction. These maps were probably over a decade old and things had probably changed around the forest. He found that Scott had wandered quite a bit away from where the pack den was when his mother came to visit, unless the wolves had decided to relocate.

He planned to head out and try to reach the pack den to see if he could spot any more wolves. Originally he had been planning to settle into the cabin more and take some more pictures of the surrounding area, but now that he had actually spotted one of the wolves Stiles found that there was no way he would be able to do that and not want to go out and look for signs of the pack.

He changed out of his bed clothing and dressed appropriately. Stiles was pretty sure that he looked like a real scientist out in the field with his green plaid shirt and tan khaki shorts with hiking boots.

Packing his supplies took a bit longer. He didn't know how long he would be out so he had no idea how much water to bring along with him. In the end he ended up putting three bottles of water into his backpack along with some food and his journal. The pepper spray went into his pocket for easy access and the satellite phone went into a side pocket.

Stiles wavered for a moment when he spotted the handgun that his father had made him bring along. Being the son of a sheriff, Stiles knew his way around guns really well. All of his father’s deputies were impressed to see how good a shot he was. Personally he thought that the pepper spray would be enough to ward off anything that would try to hurt him, but his father had insisted and made him promise to take it along. He decided to slip on his thigh holster in the end and checked the gun to make sure it was loaded and on safety. He had no intention of using the weapon at all during the trip, but he had heard horror stories about what happened to people who went into the woods without proper protection.

Once that was taken care of and he had double checked the direction that he was going to go in, Stiles shouldered his backpack and left the cabin. It was still early morning when he walked out, but there was already a lot of life around him. There were squirrels and a lot of birds and he just felt so at peace as he walked through the foliage. The bell on his backpack jingled softly as he travelled. As far as he knew, there weren't any bears in the southeastern part of the state, but stranger things had happened.

Every half hour or so Stiles would sit down to take a break and bring out his journal to make notes about what he had seen so far. The animals this deep into the forest weren't used to having a human in his territory and he saw that he was frequently watched. A little ways back there had even been a fox who had stood on a rock to stare at him for a few minutes (he had gotten amazing pictures) before scurrying off. It did him good that none of these animals had been exposed to the corruption of humanity. Nothing saddened him more than hearing stories about wild animals being put down because they wandered into town or attacked livestock.

Two hours into the trip Stiles was finally getting close to the last documented pack den. It was afternoon now and even though the sun was blocked out by the overhead trees, it was still pretty warm. He hoped that this meant that the pack would be lazing around their den instead of wandering around looking for prey. Stiles made sure to make noise as he got closer, just so he wouldn't accidentally surprise the wolves by his sudden appearance and make them act on instinct.

The den was situated close to a stream and a whole lot of rocks. Stiles recognized the area from some of his mother’s pictures and he nervously started looking around for the particular rock formation that had formed into a sort of cave. He climbed onto a rock so he would be able to look around from an elevated position. In the distance he saw something that looked like the formation in the picture and he climbed down to approach it.

At the last moment he decided to cross the stream so he could approach from a frontal position. What he was doing was risky and he knew that he probably would have been scolded by his mother, but he just had to know as soon as possible if the wolves were actually at their den.

It was hard to keep his breath from catching when he spotted dark fur in the distance. Now he knew that there was at least one wolf in the area. Stiles kept on walking along the stream until he reached a spot that was almost directly in front of the den. His heart pounded madly in his chest when he saw that the dark wolf wasn't the only one lounging around. A quick count told him that there were six wolves basking in the rays of light coming from between the leaf cover, including the beautiful Scott who he had seen the day before.

It didn't look like any of the wolves had noticed his presence yet, or they were just deciding to ignore him. His first action was to take pictures of them all. They were far enough away that he wasn't able to make out many distinguishing features besides their primary fur colors. When those were taken he looked at the pictures and zoomed them in, grabbing his mother’s list of wolves with their colors. It took quite a while before he was able to narrow down the list of who these wolves all were.

They all looked like they were adults, which kind of confused Stiles. Especially when it turned out that the dark wolf he had seen was probably Peter if he went off of the description and the pictures he remembered studying closely. That was strange though.

Most wolves reached an age between eleven and fifteen years and he was sure that his mother had documented Peter before Stiles had even been born. The same went for all of the other wolves. There was no way they could all look so young and in such good condition if he was indeed looking at the same pack his mother had loved.

His head snapped up when he heard some huffing sounds come from across the stream from the wolves. Scott, or was it maybe one of his younger siblings or even his offspring, had gotten up from the spot he had been laying down and he was looking directly at Stiles. Stiles stayed completely still, practically holding his breath as some of the other wolves looked up in his direction as well. Just as he is contemplating backing up slowly and leaving, a loud snarl came from within the rock formation.

A black wolf with a white crest on its chest came out, almost looking like it was glaring at Stiles before turning its attention to Scott. The white wolf immediately backed up, lowering his head in submission. Stiles decided that now was probably a good time to leave while the wolves were distracted with each other. He slowly started backing up, never taking his eyes off of the wolves as he did so.

He only started relaxing when he backed up far enough that he couldn't see the pack anymore. There were a few tense minutes as he waited to see if any of the wolves had actually gotten up and started looking for him. Eventually he decided that it didn’t seem like the wolves went out to look for him and he made his way back to the cabin. Stiles felt very confused as he walked back, not even taking time to take a break or take pictures of the beauty around him.

When he finally got back to the cabin he immediately went to the Hale pack folder and took out the pictures that his mother had taken. He compared the pictures to the wolves he had seen and he only proved to confuse himself even more. The first dark wolf was most definitely Peter. It almost looked like the wolf hadn't aged since Claudia last took his picture over a decade ago.

Now he had a definite list of which wolves he had seen though. There was Peter who had a very distinct black back and dark grey coloring on bottom of his stomach. Scott, with his white fur and brown and grey dusting; Isaac, who was primarily tan. Erica, who was grey and white, had been curled around Boyd's dark brown fur. Cora, who was black with rings of brown and grey throughout her fur. And lastly, Derek, who was completely black bar for the single white crest in the middle of his chest and seemed to be the alpha of the pack.

So not only did their ages not make any sense to Stiles, but their hierarchy wasn't like any pack he had ever seen. Usually the head of the pack was composed of a mated pair that had pups and were generally the eldest with the most experience. Unless there were more wolves who had been out when Stiles came by, he was pretty sure that Derek didn't have a mate. Cora was obviously out because she was his sister and Erica seemed too close to Boyd to be Derek's mate. As he thought about it Stiles just kept getting more and more confused. The only option he had to try and figure everything out was to go out and find the pack once more to study their behavior. Maybe then things would start to make more sense.

 

 

 

 

 

_July 28th 09:45_

_I start day two optimistically. Yesterday was more than just a little confusing when I encountered the Hale pack. Just the presence of the wolves themselves contradict pretty much everything that I know about them. If I look back into my mother’s records it shows that Peter was born over thirty-four years ago. I hadn't actually noticed it before when I was looking through mom’s things because I wasn't expecting to even see him alive. I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone or something. Maybe I actually landed in a fold in dimensions and somehow these wolves are able to age differently? Because technically none of the wolves that I saw yesterday are even supposed to be alive now. The youngest of the group is Isaac, but even then he would be eighteen years old, the same age as me! I have no idea what's going on, but I am really, really confused right now._

-

_July 29th 10:21_

_It's hot. Apparently I picked the wrong time of year to go out and do this. Or maybe Oregon is having a heat wave right now. I really wouldn't know. Yesterday I was able to track down part of the pack as they moved through the forest. Probably going to go hunt ~~Bambi's mom~~ some kind of poor animal that will end up as dinner. Peter, Scott and Boyd were the ones that I followed pretty much the entire afternoon. Scott totally looked up at me several times, but every time Peter gave him a nudge or a growl to warn him off. And then Peter would actually look back at me and turn around with a sweep of his tail! I have no idea what is going on with him, but that Peter is most definitely a personality. More so than I have seen in the wolves back at home. If I had to classify him, I'd say he was a pretty sassy fuck. Scott, on the other hand, is just like a big puppy. Boyd seems to be the strong and unwavering type. As Scott stared at me (almost longingly what is up with that?) and Peter determined to sass at me every chance he got, Boyd was the one that kept going along doing whatever it was that they were supposed to be doing. _

-

_July 29th 21:37_

_Today I was able to watch Cora and Erica. They were the only ones at the den and I couldn't find any of the other wolves. Nothing really interesting happened. The two of them were just laying around and being lazy. I don't believe them. Every day I walk two hours to find them and then two hours back and all they do at the den is laze around. If I'm keeping up with the trend of classifying their personalities, I would say that I would never let a type like Erica meet Lydia and Cora is just one of those types that really doesn't give a crap. Without Derek around to boss them around it seemed that Erica was more than happy to let me know than she knew I was watching them. She paced in front of the stream and kept on trying to get my attention. I left as soon as she stopped, which probably meant that the rest of the pack was coming back._

-

_July 30th 20:04_

_What is up with Derek? I know that as the Alpha he probably isn’t happy that there's a human walking around his territory, but the wolf is just a giant grump! The whole pack was at the den when I arrived today and it looked like they were ready to set out for the day. They left in the opposite direction from where I was, but this time Isaac lingered. He sat down and tilted his head as he peered in my direction. I swear that this wolf is even more a puppy than Scott is. Of course, Derek noticed that Isaac hadn't followed and he came bounding on top of the rocks and barked loudly. Isaac all but leapt in the air at the command and scampered off. If looks could kill, then the one Derek gave me would have sent me to the seventh ring of hell. I guess I should be happy that he hadn't actually felt threatened enough by my presence to do anything about it._

-

_July 31st 18:39_

_I'm tired. So, so, so, so tired. I walked around the entire afternoon looking for the pack, but zilch, nada! Maybe Derek had enough of my strange mug watching his pack the entire day. I settled for exploring the forest after it became clear I wouldn't find them. By now I've been able to determine that these are the only pack members. These seven wolves. This means that since the last time mom came, nine wolves have died. More than half the pack she knew and loved is gone._

 

 

 

 

 

Stiles felt a bit down when he left the cabin. It was partly because he wasn't able to see the pack at all the day before, but mostly because after writing his journal entry and Stiles had gone outside to wash up in the stream the small number of the pack had hit him. It made his stomach twist and he felt sick. Even though that was the circle of life he couldn't help but think about how wrecked his mother would have felt at the sight of the pack now. When she had been watching them they had been a sixteen strong pack.

Stiles hadn't expected it to affect him so much, but these were wolves that his mother had watched. Ones that she had watched grow up even. He was sure that if he had found the pack with younger members and only one or two of the ones she had watched then he wouldn't feel like this at all. He shook it off when he sat down to take his first break. It wasn't as hot as it had been the rest of the week, but he was still tired from the day before.

Stiles spotted a flower that he hadn't seen yet and he knelt down to take a few pictures. Needless to say he was more than a little surprised to look up from his camera and see Scott watching him from only a short distance away.

Naturally, with him being his usual self, all that happened when he tried to stand up and back away was that he tripped over his own feet and fell on his ass. Scott watched him the entire time as he stumbled around like an idiot before he decided that Stiles wasn't going to do anything to hurt him and slowly started closing the distance between them.

Stiles' hand immediately went into his pocket to grab the pepper spray and he was about to pull it out when Scott stopped in front of him and sat down, his tail wagging behind him. He was pretty sure that with any of the others wolves he would have been pissing his pants in fear, but Scott was the first wolf he had encountered from the pack. Since then it had been Scott to acknowledge his presence as soon as he sensed him and he always tried to let Stiles know that he obviously had no problem with the human hanging around the pack.

The two of them stared at each other for what seemed like hours before Stiles finally dared to take his hand out of his pocket and sit up.  It was breathtaking to actually be able to see Scott so close. From such a short distance Stiles is easily able to distinguish all of the grey and brown markings that spread over the wolf's white coat. Scott was literally sitting right in front of Stiles, his front paws practically pressed up to Stiles' feet. He was still baffled that the wolf actually felt comfortable enough to even be so close to him. He was even more baffled at the fact that Scott had deliberately sought him out.

The two just sat across from each other, neither of them making a move to either back off or get any closer. Stiles' hands were trembling. At the preserve he sat down with the wolves often, but there was always a fence between them. The fact that Scott was close enough that he would be able to move before Stiles could react was terrifying, so Stiles just did what he did best. And that was talk.

"Hey there Scott." If the white wolf hadn't been at attention before, he most certainly was now. He was sitting up even straighter and his fluffy ears were turned forward as his tail started wagging even more behind him. "I have to say that I am terrified right now. Like, you almost made me shit my pants there dude. I know that you probably haven't seen a lot of humans, but you can't just sneak up on people like that. What if you had startled me even more and I would have hurt you?"

A soft whine came from the wolf, his ears turning back and pressing flat against his head. Stiles let out a breathless chuckle. If he had known that he would be sitting on the ground talking to a wild wolf, then he would have set up his camera to record it or something. Especially since it seemed that Scott understood him. Or maybe he was just sensitive to what Stiles was feeling. That was a much more logical explanation.

"Ah no, don't do that. You look so droopy and sad and it makes me what to cuddle you. Just stop okay? Because that would be bad for the both of us. Me because who knows how you would react and you because getting used to human presence is bad. We don't need another Ronno happening here." He was just full of Bambi references. It was probably just the way his mind coped with being in a forest.

Stiles leaned forward, crossing his arms over his knees and propping his head on them. Scott tilted his head before he crouched down, looking like he was trying to copy Stiles' position. Stiles laughed out loud this time and Scott looked up.

It was insane, but his body moved on its own and Stiles was holding his hand out between him and Scott to see what the wolf would do. He held his breath as Scott's big brown eyes narrowed in on his hand and just stared for a few moments before leaning up to tentatively press his nose against Stiles' palm. Stiles' breath caught in his throat when he felt the first cold press of Scott's nose against his palm. He patiently the wolf sniff at his hand, elated that they were actually so close to each other.

When Scott moved to press his muzzle against Stiles' hand though it felt like a sudden jolt of electricity went through his arm to his chest. Scott leaped away with a yelp and Stiles bent forward to press his forehead against the ground as he clutched at his chest. He found relief when his mother's necklace stopped touching his skin. Still trying to catch his breath from the sudden shock, Stiles reached into his shirt with a shaking hand to pull the necklace out from underneath his clothing. The silver claw felt warm to the touch, as if he had held it in a pot of boiling water of something.

He looked up to see Scott pacing in front of him, a soft whine coming from the wolf as he watched Stiles intently. Once their eyes connected again Scott seemed to relax, but his eyes moved down to Stiles' hand to see what he was clutching. The white wolf let out another yelp, but this time in excitement. He padded in place for a few moments before wagging his tail and leaping into the bushes and running off.

Stiles was left kneeling on the forest floor still shocked, figuratively and literally, about the strange encounter with Scott. As he sat up he decided that maybe it wasn't a good idea to go out and look for the pack. He stared at his mother's necklace, which had strangely lost its warmth pretty much as soon as Scott had run off, before letting it go to hang in front of his shirt. Whatever had happened, it had sufficiently creeped him out. He moved to grab his backpack and camera before setting off in the opposite direction of the pack den.

Stiles spent the rest of the day exploring parts of the forest that he hadn't been yet and taking pictures of the scenery. He would have quite the story to tell everyone once he got back home.

He was kneeling down between some bushes taking some pictures of a little black mink when the small mammal froze and dashed off. Stiles watched it go with disappointment. He was sure that he hadn't been making any noise so it must have been spooked by something else. When he stood up and looked around he could see why the mink had run off like that. Scott and Isaac were looming between the trees, their heads immediately moving in his direction when he came into view.

Scott's tail immediately started wagging behind him as he stepped forward, looking back at Isaac as if to encourage him. Stiles just stared at the both of them as they moved towards him, very slowly as it seemed that Isaac was still weary, and he actually had the wits to take some pictures this time. It was too good a moment let slip through his fingers even though he knew that he should probably have tried to leave the area without agitating the wolves. But something inside him told him that he was safe with these wolves. That he didn't have to worry at all.

He kneeled down again when Scott and Isaac stopped a few feet away from him in order to seem less threatening by going down to their eye level. Scott still looked happy to see him, but Isaac was obviously not sure about the situation.

"Hi Isaac. I see that Scott dragged you along. He does seem like the type to get excited and drag other people with him. Kind of a lot like me actually." Isaac visibly started relaxing a bit more as Stiles talked to him, but he was still not sure of himself.

Even though Scott didn't make a move to come close enough for the two of them to touch again, Stiles was reveling in the attention. Some fleeting glances to his chest showed Stiles that Isaac was interested in his mother's wolf claw necklace as well. Whatever had happened between him and Scott earlier seemed to have something to do with it and the white wolf had even seen fit to drag one of his pack members out to meet Stiles. They stayed in the same area for a few hours with Stiles just sitting down talking to the two wolves as Scott walked around and Isaac sat tensely off to the side. It was more interaction that Stiles could have ever wished for and it was one of the most amazing experiences in his entire life.

 

 

 

 

 

After that day he started seeing a whole lot more of the pack. When he was making his way to the den Stiles was intercepted by Scott again, only this time the white wolf had dragged Erica and Boyd along.

Erica wasn't excited to see him per se, but she was obviously intrigued by him and she tried to get his attention away from Scott as much as possible. Boyd was just being his normal, stoic self. He was sitting the furthest away, simply content with watching Scott and Erica fight with each other to get Stiles' attention.

Before long Stiles started getting little antsy and he got up, brushing off his shorts to get pieces of the forest off of him. Boyd immediately got up when he did, growling low under his breath. Stiles held up his hands in response, his heart pounding in his chest. Scott had turned to Boyd and was trying to calm him down but it was clear that the darker wolf wasn't giving Scott any heed.

Stiles was worried that he had gotten up too fast and had startled the wolf, but Boyd wasn't backing down. He was about to start backing up to get away from the wolves when Scott walked up to him and started nudging his thigh. It took all of Stiles' self-control to not jump away from the wolf, but when he looked down he saw that Scott had been nudging his thigh holster. Stiles carefully took the gun out, trying to stay calm as Boyd's growls grew even louder, and he swiftly pulled the clip out. He held his hands up to show Boyd that the gun wasn't loaded and the growls slowly lessened. He put the gun back into the holster and the clip into the pocket on his other side. After that Boyd finally seemed to think that he wasn't a threat to his pack anymore and he stopped growling completely.

After that the rest of the day went without any other hitches. They had all walked towards the den eventually and they split up when Stiles went to cross the stream to take his normal spot away from the pack. He leaned against one of the trees, writing down things into his journal as he watched the wolves interact with each other.

Now he was really starting to understand why his mother seemed to love this pack so much. Something about these wolves just spoke to him, even more so than the wolves that he had grown up with. It was just something inside of him that made him feel drawn towards these wolves. Stiles pondered the implications of it, wondering if the skewed ages of the wolves had anything to do with this strange attraction and his mother's necklace.

He wondered if his mom had gone through the same thing as he was doing. After a week of watching the pack Stiles felt like there was an actual bond between them that grew stronger every time he saw Scott and whoever he dragged along with him.

The day after passed by in a similar fashion. Halfway to the den Scott had come walking out of the bushes with Cora and Peter. Now that Stiles had been able to meet most of the wolves up close it still amazed him how apparent all of their personalities were. Cora seemed alright to be around Stiles, but couldn't seem to care less otherwise and didn't react to any of Scott's advances to get her to interact with Stiles more. Peter was just plain old Peter. The older wolf had found a perch on top of a fallen tree, his blue eyes just watching Stiles the entire time. Stiles had been right about Peter, the wolf was just a down right creeper.

He didn't have as much time with them as he had had with any of the other wolves because before long Derek came from behind one of the trees. Just his presence pulled the other wolves' attention away from Stiles and they got up and walked back to the den. Derek stayed behind though. The black wolf was just standing there, glaring at Stiles. If wolves could glare at least because it sure looked like that was what Derek had been doing.

Stiles couldn't help but feel a bit disconnected with Derek compared to all of the other wolves. The black wolf was the one that he had seen the least of this entire time and Stiles suddenly felt the need to start looking for Derek a lot more. He brought his camera up, snapping a picture of the wolf. Once he lowered his camera Derek just huffed at him and walked off. Stiles didn't go to the den afterwards, but he was definitely going to make an effort to follow Derek around a lot more.

 

 

 

 

 

The next two days he did exactly that. He didn't bump into Scott on his way to the den on either day, but he did manage to find Derek relatively easy. It seemed that even though he was the Alpha of the pack, he was alone more often than not. It didn't surprise Stiles that he was a loner type. With a personality as grumpy as Derek's was, Stiles could kind of understand that the other wolves probably understood when their Alpha wanted to be alone.

It was still strange though, but so far a lot of things about this trip had been very strange to Stiles. He wasn't any closer to understanding anything that he had been experiencing, but it wasn't like he hadn't tried. His journal was filled with theories and possible connections to Native American myths, but most of everything was crossed through.

Stiles couldn't for the life of him understand this pack. He decided that that was probably the reason why his mother had been so interested in the Hale pack. Claudia had probably been just as baffled at the situation as he was. On the one hand he was confused that she hadn't gone to other experts to tell them about this strange pack, but on the other hand he completely understood. The pack was isolated from any other in the state and they lived deep enough in the forest that there probably weren't a lot of researchers interested in studying them when there were much more accessible packs in northern Oregon. His mother had been all about wolf conservation and protecting their natural habitats, so he could totally see why she had kept this pack a secret from the rest of the world.

Watching Derek was pretty boring. The wolf mostly just walked around the forest as if he was patrolling the edges of their territory. He often laid down, just staring into the distance and Stiles had caught one instance when he had outsmarted a squirrel and munched down on it for lunch.

Despite all of his earlier warnings and general dislike of Stiles, Derek didn't seem to mind all that much that Stiles was following him around. At first Stiles had been worried that Derek might feel cornered, but he had learned that this pack didn't react to him the same as other wolves seemed to do.

On the second day Derek had laid down by another one of the many streams that flowed through the forest and he laid his head down on his paws to rest. Stiles had taken the opportunity to take more pictures, the way the sun hit Derek's black fur was an amazing view, before he leaned against a tree and sat down. He made sure that he could still see Derek as he leaned his head against the trunk and closed his eyes.

Stiles was pretty tired. He wasn't used to walking around the woods every single day and it was starting to take its toll on him. He would sleep more, but there was an underlying excitement that he couldn't shake off.

When he opened his eyes again Stiles felt a lot cooler than he had ever since he had gotten to Oregon. It took him only a few seconds to realize that it was because it was pouring. He was already starting to get soaked to the bone and he let out a curse when he saw that he was still holding his camera. Stiles quickly put the camera into his bag, praying that it hadn't gotten too wet.

He stood up and looked around. Derek wasn't there anymore and Stiles grumbled to himself as he surveyed the area. Which direction had he come from again? He grabbed his compass and let it settle before he started heading west in the direction which he hoped that the cabin was in. He knew the general direction, but he hadn't been paying as much attention as to where he was going when he was following Derek, mostly because by the end of the day Derek would go back to the den and Stiles was able to find his way back to the cabin without needing to look at anything.

He wiped some water off his face. Luckily for him his backpack was waterproof, so everything inside of it was safe from getting wet, but he couldn't say the same about him. By now he was completely soaked through and he knew that he must look like a drenched cat.

A soft huff came from beside him and he froze as he looked to the side. Stiles relaxed a bit when he saw Derek standing next to him. The black wolf was also soaked, but he obviously didn't have any problems with it like Stiles had. Derek turned around and took a few steps before looking at Stiles as if he was impatient. It took Stiles a moment to realize that the wolf actually wanted him to follow him and he started following without any hesitation.

They walked through the trees until they reached another rock formation. Derek walked in and shook most of the water out of his fur, this time not even looking to see if Stiles followed him or not.

"You better not be planning to have me as your midnight snack you Sourwolf." Stiles muttered under his breath as he walked into the little cave. It wasn't that big and the area at the back where Derek had huddled down was much lower. Stiles walked over to the middle of the cave and sat down, placing his backpack next to him. He checked to make sure that everything was, indeed, still dry before he pulled out the plaid shirt that he had taken off earlier in the day.

He pulled off his wet shirt, scowling as he heard the wet smack when he dropped it on the floor and he pulled on and buttoned up his dry shirt. Stiles took off his shoes and his socks. Hopefully the wind wouldn't blow in such a direction that it would find its way into the cave because Stiles was sure that he was going to get sick if that happened. Not that he didn't think he wasn’t going to get sick sitting like this.

He leaned his head against the rock wall behind him and stared outside when he heard claws scratching against the floor of the little cave. He stayed completely still when he saw Derek walked towards him from the corner of his eye. The wolf hesitated for a few moments before padding over to Stiles and laying down next to him, pressing against his outstretched legs. Stiles was shocked at how close Derek actually was and happily surprised when he felt how warm the wolf was. He shimmied down so he was laying down as well, using his backpack as a pillow so his side was pressing against the space heater that was Derek. Between the warmth, the sound of the rain outside and the soft breathing coming from Derek it wasn't long before Stiles fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

He woke up in increments. The first thing that he noticed was how uncomfortable he was. His back felt stiff and his neck was protesting somewhat fiercely. Then he let out a soft, content sigh when he felt how warm he was. Somewhere in the back of his mind the cold was still present, but it sure wasn’t there anymore. Lastly he noticed that whatever he was curled up against had what felt like very nicely, chiseled pectorals. Stiles' eyes snapped open as soon as that thought has been completely formed in his mind and the lingering touches of sleep faded away. He had to blink his eyes a few times to get them adjusted to the darkness that came from him being near the back of the small cave that he and Derek had curled up in last night. Speaking of which, the black wolf was definitely not next to him anymore. Instead he had been replaced by a body that should be illegal and was very much naked.

Stiles let out a surprised shout as he pushed himself off of the chest, rolling over his backpack to try and create distance between him and the naked man. He held his hands up like he was going to karate chop the man any second before he actually took him in completely. Maybe he had died last night and went to heaven? Because _hot damn_!

Never before had he seen a person like this. Not even sexy Ranger Danny could stand up to this guy. Stiles was right when he said that the guy’s chest was most certainly built, but even with that in front of him it was hard to ignore everything else. Mister Adonis was lightly tanned, his black hair was standing a bit on end and there was stubble that just barely edged on being an actual beard accompanied with eyes that seemed to become a different color every time the guy shifted them.

He had to steel himself not to look down even lower, because the guy wasn't wearing anything. Nothing at all. And he was laying there in all his naked glory, looking a bit annoyed at Stiles. It wasn't often that Stiles was speechless, but he just couldn't find words. To try and get his mind to reboot properly he started looking around the cave, his backpack was squashed on the floor where he had rolled over it and his soaked shirt was still in a pile next to his boots and socks. A bit of sunlight was shining into the entrance of the cave, which meant that he had slept the entire night.

The only thing that didn't belong was dark and sexy and he was missing the wolf he had curled up next to the night before. He did another sweep of the area to make sure that Derek wasn't just hidden in the dark corners of the small cave. He turned his head back to the guy and chuckled.

"Okay. This is- I have no idea what happened last night, but you weren't there when I went to sleep!" He would forever deny the high pitch that his voice took as he spoke. "Out of all the things I imagined happening last night it was not waking up to-" He waved his hands in the man’s general direction.

"Where's Derek anyways? Did you see him when you crawled in here? He's a black wolf with a white crest and he's got this grumpy demeanor about him and oh my god! You would think that he would make a better guard wolf like that! I mean with the way he gets all snappy when he thinks I'm too close to the pack, it's insane. Well, I know that that's pretty much his job to keep the pack safe and everything but jeez! You think that he would have lent me the common courtesy! Damn you Sourwolf!"

With all his flailing and ranting Stiles hadn't noticed the man shift onto his knees and lean forward until it was too late and he slapped a hand over Stiles' mouth to shut him up. "Don't you ever shut up? At first you never said anything and it was all good before Scott had to go along and seek out contact and now your mouth just doesn't stop moving anymore." The guy’s voice is a bit higher than Stiles had expected it to be, but it fit him. After all, that growly timber in his voice made Stiles want to- His eyes widened and he slapped the hand away.

" _Derek_!?"

The guy scowled at Stiles, narrowing his eyes and snarling. Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. What the in the world had he gotten himself into this time? "Yes, Derek. How can you actually be so dense with me sitting right in front of you?"

"But how is that-? How are you even? You're a wolf! Before I fell asleep you were a black furred void of grumpiness and a wolf!"

Derek sighed loudly, even daring to roll his eyes at Stiles. How could the man, no wolf, or was he a man? How could Derek expect Stiles to react to something like this? Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought that he would be faced by a situation like this. There was no way that this was possible in any sense. There wasn't a single thing that Stiles could think of to make sense of this morning at all. Then it blindsided him. "Werewolf."

Derek nodded, the grumpy expression on his face loosening a bit. Stiles just gaped at the werewolf in front of him. Surely this had to be a dream induced by hypothermia or something. Werewolves didn't exist. They were mythical creatures that were only real in stories. But the evidence in front of him left no room of doubt.

Now that he took a good look, he could see the similarities between Derek in human form and wolf form. The way that he held himself with Stiles was the same, he was closer than he had even been before but Derek was still holding himself like he was going to leap away at even the slightest indiscretion. His eyes were the biggest similarity though. Stiles had been watching Derek closely for two days, getting as close as the wolf would let him and taking as many pictures as he could. He'd been gushing over those eyes when he noticed how unusual the shade was for a wolf.

So werewolves were real. And there was one sitting in front of him right now. Did that mean that the rest of the pack were werewolves as well? It only made sense. Would real wolves even let a werewolf into their pack, much less be their Alpha? It would also explain the fact that all of the pack members were older than any wolf he had heard of.

"Stiles." Apparently Derek had decided that he had been silent for too long. The werewolf looked uncertain as he reached out. Stiles froze when Derek's hand came close to his neck, letting out a soft whimper when the man’s fingers dipped into his shirt and tugged on the chain of his mother's necklace to bring it out over his plaid shirt. "You got this from your mother."

"Y-yeah. How did you-?" Stupid question apparently because Derek started looking impatient again.

"It's the symbol of the Guardians. It gets passed on to the next generation when a Guardian either becomes too old to uphold their duties to the pack that they protect or when a Guardian passes away. Your mother was the Guardian of our pack long before even I was born and her father before that. With her being gone, that task now falls to you."

Stiles snatched the chain out of Derek's loose grip, holding it tightly to his chest as he crawled backwards. The man -werewolf- seriously couldn't think that just by dumping all of this information on him that Stiles would automatically accept everything and go along with it without a question by bringing his late mother into it. And a Guardian? He didn't know exactly what it all meant, but surely it included exactly what the title suggested it did. There was no way that he was going to be responsible for a whole group of people. Stiles hadn't even been eighteen years old for very long and now Derek suddenly wanted him to take up this task of being a Guardian just because his mother had been his pack's when he was younger? No. Hell no. He was just barely able to take care of himself. How was he supposed to-?

His heart was pounding erratically in his chest. Vaguely he noticed that Derek was starting to look concerned, but he didn't care. He needed to go. Stiles couldn't be here anymore. His breath came out in short gasps as he scrambled to his feet and ran out of the cave. He heard Derek calling out after him, but he ignored him. His feet were bare and he could already feel that he had cut himself on something, but he didn't stop running. He had to get away from the situation.

Stiles stumbled through the forest, tripping over logs and cutting up his hands and knees. There was no doubt that his feet were covered in cuts as they started hurting the more that he ran. Somehow he had managed to run in the direction of the cabin because it was suddenly in front of him. He collided with the front door in his haste to get inside and he fumbled with the doorknob before he was able to grip it properly and force the door open. It slammed behind him and he collapsed onto the floor on his way to the bed. Every part of him ached as he tried to crawl over. He couldn't anymore and Stiles just laid down on the floor and let out a sob, trying to calm himself down without any success.

 

 

 

 

 

Stiles had no idea how long he had been curled up on the floor in the cabin. It had taken him what seemed like hours before he was able to come down from his panic attack. It wasn't by far the worst one that he had had, but this one was coupled with a deep, bone-aching exhaustion that came along with his adrenaline crash and how badly he had bruised himself up in his haste to get away from Derek.

He licked his lips to try to wet them. His mouth was dry and he was parched. He couldn't bring himself to get up and grab a bottle of water though. His hands, knees and feet were hurting and the smell of blood had filled the air around him. As he lifted his gaze towards the windows Stiles saw that it was still daylight outside, so it was probably still afternoon.

Eventually he forced himself to get up though, because he needed to rehydrate and take care of his wounds before they got infected. It was pure misery when he got up to his feet and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep a sob from spilling off of his lips. The water was worth the pain though. He let out a whimper the second he brought a bottle to his lips and the water flowed into his mouth. Stiles greedily drank the entire bottle before grabbing another bottle and chugging down about half of it.

Luckily for him the cooler was right next to the cabinet where he had stored his first aid kit. He shifted to the side to grab it along with a cloth. He wetted the cloth with some of the water before using it to start cleaning the surface of his wounds. His palms weren't as bad as he had first thought, but his knees and feet were really banged up. His knees were bruised and covered in scrapes and the bottom of his feet were littered in cuts.

If he thought that cleaning out the wounds to get all of the dirt out was agony, it was nothing compared to sterilizing them with peroxide though. None of the cuts were deep though so he didn't think that he would have to get a tetanus shot. Part of him thought about calling to the station to get Danny or Stefan out here to take him to a doctor, but then he remembered that he had stupidly left his backpack with Derek when he ran off. Definitely not his brightest moment because nearly everything was still in there.

So there was a chance that he was going to be stuck here for the next three days. He used some polysporin on all of his cuts before covering them with bandages. The cuts on his feet would probably inhibit his walking for a little bit, but it would be something that he would have to deal with. Stiles pulled himself back up to his feet using the cabinets as a support before walking towards his bed. He collapsed face first onto the mattress, the old cot squeaking in protest underneath him, and his eyes slipped shut. It only took a few minutes before he fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

He woke up to the sound of something scratching at the door of the cabin accompanied by soft whining sounds. At first Stiles decided that he was going to ignore it until the scratching stopped and a few seconds later knocks started up. He sat up with a groan, glaring at the door.

"What the fuck?" Stiles grumbled as he got out of the bed and carefully walked to the door with a minimal amount of wincing. His hand reached into the pocket of his shorts to grab the pepper spray and he held it up as he reached out and opened the door.

He shrieked when a naked young man jumped through the doorway and onto Stiles. The two of them crashed onto the floor and the young man, who looked about as old as Stiles, didn't look bothered at all. He was babbling about all sorts of things, running his hands over the bandages on Stiles' palms. There were some words in there that Stiles recognized, but it was hard to gather his wits when he was practically being assaulted by yet another naked man. Why couldn't this have happened to him before his life turned into a downwards spiral?

The young man was still talking and talking, not looking as if he was going to stop anytime soon. Stiles took a moment to look at him. It wasn't that hard considering he was leaning right over Stiles. His skin was tanned and his short black hair was wild and floppy. His jaw looked like it was crooked and his big brown eyes were piercing as he looked over Stiles.

Wait a minute. Stiles knew those eyes. "Scott?!"

The young man froze above him before he perked up, his mouth curling into a huge grin. "I knew that you would recognize me like this! Isaac said there was no way, but you did. So he can suck it."

"That's great and all buddy, but could you get off of me?" Stiles awkwardly reached up and patted Scott on the shoulder to try and get him to move. Scott's lips stilled before he nodded his head quickly and rolled off of Stiles. Stiles managed to sit up and he rubbed the back of his head which had crashed into the floor when Scott had jumped on top of him. He looked over to where Scott was sitting, his lips curled up into an anxious smile as he sat on his knees to wait for a reaction.

"What are you doing here Scott?" Stiles had expected that Derek might come by to try and get him to listen to him again, but on the other hand it made sense that Scott was here. Out of all the wolves it was undoubtedly Scott that he was the closest to.

"Oh! Right. I brought your bag and your shoes, plus I'm here to extend an invitation for you to come to the den."

A look to the doorway showed Stiles that his backpack was sitting on the porch. At least he had gotten his things back. It would have sucked if he had lost them all. As much as he wanted to walk over and use the satellite phone to call the Rangers, he was curious about what the pack had to tell him. They knew things about Stiles' mother that he didn't and this pack knew things about him as well.

It was no surprise now as to why Claudia had adored this pack so much and came up here as often as possible. He looked over at Scott who was practically vibrating with anticipation as he awaited Stiles' answer. Stiles let out a sigh and ran his hand over his face. "I guess that I should go. You're probably going to have walk slowly because it hurts when I walk."

Scott reached out, his hands covering Stiles' feet. The dull ache in his feet slowly faded away and the veins in Scott's arm turned black. He was about to slap the werewolf's hands away from him when Scott remove his hands with a pleased hum. "I can't heal you, but it can take away some of your pain."

He stood up, Stiles quickly looked to the side because the young man had no modesty whatsoever, and walked back outside. Truthfully, Stiles wanted to wash himself off and change his clothes before heading out to the den, but it looked like Scott was ready and rearing to go.

Stiles whipped off his plaid shirt and reached into some drawers to grab a clean shirt and put it on before grabbing socks and his runners. He walked out onto the porch and saw that Scott had shifted back into his wolf form. It was strange to see him now that he knew what he looked like when he was a human. It would probably take a little bit before he would be able to connect the two in his mind.

He took the boots out of his backpack and slung the bag over his shoulders before closing the door of the cabin behind him. Scott padded over to him, pressing his muzzle against Stiles' hip before he turned and walked off in the direction of the den. Stiles walked after him, glad that he wasn't feeling any pain as he walked. That little trick that Scott had done to take away his pain was working really well.

The two of them walked comfortably next to each other on the way to the den. Any other time Stiles would have been talking to fill the silence, but he didn't think that he would be able to get anything out that made any sense at all.

When they arrived all of the wolves are sitting in a semi-circle around the entrance of the den. Their eyes narrowed in on him as he walked in with Scott and Stiles gulped. Scott left his side to sit down next to Cora. Derek was sitting in front of him, sitting up straight as he took a few moments to take Stiles.

There was a strange ripple and Stiles blinked, his eyes widening when there was suddenly a man standing in front of him instead of a wolf. He immediately looked up and to the side to avoid looking straight at Derek. In the corner of his eyes he could see that all of the other wolves were shifting as well. It wasn't long before he was surrounded by naked people and he started bouncing on the balls of his feet nervously.

"Stiles."

And there was that gruff voice again. Stiles took a deep breath to calm himself down before turning his eyes back to Derek, resolutely training his gaze on Derek's face. There was a soft chuckle that came from the side, but all it took was a glare from Derek for it to stop. The werewolf stepped forward. "It seems that I took the wrong approach with you yesterday." Derek was gritting his teeth, sounding as if it was causing him physical pain to be talking to Stiles like that. "So after some deliberation with the pack I have decided that it would be best to introduce you to them all before we start talking about more pressing matters. You know all of them already, but you haven't been introduced properly. This is my uncle Peter and my younger sister, Cora. You have already met Scott. On the other side we have Boyd, Erica and Isaac."

Stiles could definitely see the family resemblance with Derek, Peter and Cora. The two youngest are looking at him with the same dispassionate gaze, but Peter was smirking and looking him over like the creeper that Stiles knows he was. He suppressed a shiver as he turned to look at Scott, who gave him a thumbs up before he looked over to his other side. Boyd's dark colored complexion and broad shoulders made him look imposing, but the look in his eyes was relaxed. Erica was standing next to him, her hands on her hips and her mouth curled up in a smirk. Her long blonde hair was hanging down in front of her chest, which was good because Stiles would have no idea where he was supposed to look otherwise. Next to her was Isaac, who had a curly brown and a soft smile on his face.

Stiles turned his eyes back to Derek, waiting for the werewolf to signal that they were going to continue. It was Peter who stepped forward though. "As the only one present that knows pretty much all there is to know about the Guardians, I chose to take it upon myself to explain things to you without being as blunt as my nephew here."

Derek's nostrils flared a bit at the level of insubordination that Peter was showing, but the older werewolf didn't pay Derek any heed as he continued. "Even though we are able to shift into human form at our own free will, many werewolves feel more comfortable in our wolf forms. Because of this they choose to live as wolves to keep our secret from humans, but it limits our interactions with the rest of the world. And that, my dear Stiles, is where you come in. You come from a long line of Guardians. What Guardians do is mainly protect the pack from detection from those that seek to wipe our existence from the planet and give us an in into the human world."

Stiles waved his hands to get Peter to stop. "Whoa. Back up there. Run that second last bit by me again? Because I think I might have heard you wrong. There are people that hunt werewolves?"

"But of course. Surely hearing that isn't much of a surprise to you. The human race finds it hard to try and coexist with something that they don't understand or fear. And the way that they handle it is with eradication."

Stiles couldn't help but nod at what Peter was saying. There were many instances in the human history where events like that had occurred. He stayed silent as Peter started going more into detail about the Guardians.

 

 

 

 

 

_August 10th 17:32_

_Wow, so a lot has gone on the last four days. I found out that werewolves exist. Werewolves! Ha! And if it couldn't get any crazier, apparently I come from a long line of 'Guardians' that protect the packs from people that wish to harm them. Quite a lot to take in. I wish I was dreaming, but this is all very real._

_I called into the station earlier to ask Stefan to get Danny to pick me up in four days instead of yesterday because there's no way that I'm going to be able to learn what this being a 'Guardian' entails in such a short time. It took some persuading, but I managed to convince him._

_Derek said that he would give me time to think over if I want to follow in my mother’s footsteps to become Guardian of the pack. Honestly, at first I just wanted to turn my back and leave, but I find that I can't. Apparently being a Guardian has quite a few perks though. Aside from being in with a werewolf pack, of course, which is probably still the coolest thing about it. I learned about a whole bunch of different mediums that I should be able to manipulate if I practice. And yeah. Manipulation is pretty much on the same line as magic. Peter told me that there are legends about Guardians who were actually able to bend the elements to their will. Fucking awesome!_

_I found out why the number of members in the pack has dwindled to so few as well though. About two years after mom had passed away, and taken her protection with her, a group of hunters were able to sneak their way into the forest. Nine of the wolves died that night, including Talia, the Alpha, and Derek's older sister Laura, who would have been Alpha after her mother. Derek was next in line, so he became the Alpha of the Hale pack. Apparently the rest only survived because there had been an unscheduled night patrol that came through the area and the hunters were spooked off by the Rangers. With the mentality that these hunters seem to have I'm kind of surprised that they didn't try to come back and finish the job. But then again, the patrols afterwards become a lot more frequent so it might not have been as easy to sneak back in._

_I've been spending almost all of my time with the pack, it's still really awkward to have them all naked around me, especially since they're all so good looking, but I guess I might have to get used to it. After everything was finished Derek and Peter came with me back to cabin. There they showed me a secret compartment that held journals about the pack written by all of the Guardians before me. It was hard to read what mom had written. Again it struck me how unfair it was that her life was cut so short. Her writings are filled with intricate details about the pack and their lives. There's a lot of other stuff that's harder to take in. Like the traditions that the pack has and werewolf etiquette. It's stuffed with all these little details and nuances that it left my head spinning._

_The pack keeps showing up while I'm reading as well. They mostly stay in their wolf forms, but it's comforting to have them with me when I'm learning so much about them. They're all orphans. Some of them lost both of their parents the night that he hunters came eight years ago. I know what it feels like to lose a parent, but to lose both of them in one night? That must have been the most horrifying night in their entire lives._

_Derek explained to me that wolves can feel when something has happened to one of their pack members, especially the Alpha. I don't know what's worse. Watching your parent wither away slowly to an illness without being able to help or feeling your parents life pretty much be ripped away from you. Besides all of them grim parts, I've been getting to know them all a lot better. I was pretty on target when guessing their personalities. Slowly but surely we're all starting to get closer to each other._

_At first I was ready to turn down Derek to be the pack Guardian, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe I can grow with the pack. I can become more confident, stronger and maybe even a better person. Maybe I can grow into the person that my mom wanted me to become._

 

 

 

 

 

Stiles woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a gunshot. It sounded like it was fired not too far from the cabin and a few seconds later he heard a long howl. He stumbled out of bed, pulling his shorts on and stuffed his feet into his boots without socks. He feared the worst when he started hearing more commotion. Without a second thought, Stiles grabbed his handgun and the satellite phone before running out into the night.

He was running as he dialed the station and waited for them to pick up. The phone rang an agonizing three times before a grumpy voice answered. "Jackson! Jackson, listen to me! There are people in the forest! I'm hearing gun shots and the wolves in the distance and you all need to get your butts down here now before any of them gets hu-!"

Stiles slammed into another body and they both went crashing to the ground, the satellite phone and the gun slipping out of Stiles' grasp. It took him a second to realize he had crashed into one of the hunters and he was reeling back when the man swung out at him. With a grunt Stiles propelled himself forward into the hunter to try and pin him to the ground. They rolled around the forest floor, both of them grappling to gain the advantage.

Of course the hunter was physically stronger than Stiles and had training, so eventually it was him who managed to pin Stiles down to the ground. The man grinned and reached for a pocket in his vest, pulling a hunting knife out. He raised his arm up and was about to stab Stiles when a tanned blur crashed into him and sent him flying off.

Stiles quickly sat up and watched as Isaac attacked the man. The wolf connected eyes with Stiles before barking and slashing the hunters vest and running off. The hunter ran after Isaac, no longer concerned with Stiles.

Another howl broke out into the night, but this one sounded like whoever was calling out was in pain. Something inside of him told Stiles that it was Derek who was howling in pain and he scooped up his gun before running towards the origin of the sounds.

It was hard to navigate in the darkness, even if he knew the forest pretty well by now. All of the sound around him was disorienting as well. As he ran there were a mixture of sounds that surrounded him. There was shouting here and there, the occasional bark or snarl and a few screams of pain. At one point Boyd ran out from behind some bushes and ran in front of Stiles, looking around as if he was protecting Stiles as he set out to save his Alpha.

He came crashing through the trees to find Derek growling on the ground in his Beta form as he clutched his lower abdomen. A short distance away a woman was holding Derek at gunpoint and cackled as she took a few steps towards Derek. "Look at you. The mighty Alpha of the Hale pack. Let me tell you, sweetheart. You aren't much of an Alpha, so it's going to be a lot easier to pick of the rest of your pack than it was eight years ago."

Behind the woman was a man, who was holding what looked like a large police baton. It was making some sort of humming sound so he could only guess that it had electricity coursing through it. Cora was snarling loudly and baring her fangs at the man. One of her front paws was hovering over the ground as if she was keeping it up because it was injured. Stiles wouldn't have doubted that she would have already made her way to Derek otherwise. Boyd was growling lowly beside him and Stiles had heard enough.

He raised his gun and stepped out from the tree he had been hiding behind, pointing it at the woman. "Put the gun down and step away from the werewolf."

She turned towards him, a surprised look on her face. It only lasted a few seconds before her lips curled up into a twisted grin and she starts laughing. "Look at you! Big mister Guardian now huh? We had our suspicions about who you were, but when our inside man called to tell us how you managed to grab a few extra days because there were 'things' you needed to takes are of before you left, we knew that you had gotten in contact with the pack. So we came in to take care of you all before the pack gets too strong again."

Her gaze turned back to Derek then, completely disregarding Stiles. He could see with the way that the muscles moved in her arm that she was planning to shoot Derek again. Stiles had only ever used his gun at the shooting range. Never before had he even pointed it at another living thing. But now he aimed and squeezed the trigger without any hesitation. The woman screamed when the bullet pierced her wrist and she dropped the gun.

Boyd reacted as soon as Stiles' shot went off. He had circled around to get closer to the second hunter without being detected and he burst out from behind a tree with a growl. The hunter was startled by Boyd's sudden appearance and it had distracted him long enough for Cora to jump forward and pounce on top of the hunter.

Stiles knew that they would be able to take care of themselves and took advantage of the woman being in pain and slammed the butt of his gun against her temple. It probably wasn't hard enough to kill her, but it definitely rendered her unconscious. He fell to Derek's side straight after, cursing when he saw that the Alpha was unconscious as well. Another look showed him that Derek wasn't breathing either.

"Derek! Derek, you have to wake up! Derek!" Stiles straddled the werewolf's legs and pressed his ear against Derek's bare chest. "Fuck." His heart was beating, but only just barely. He raised his hand and slapped Derek's face, screaming at the werewolf to wake up. Stiles even curled his hand into a fist and punched Derek in the face, but not even that woke him up.

He started slamming his fists against Derek's chest, screaming in frustration. "No, no, no. You can't just do this to me! You can't just save my soaking ass and bring me into the fold with your stupid pack and leave me alone like this! God dammit Derek! Don't die! Please don't die." Stiles could feel how hard he was shaking as his cheeks became wet with tears.

There were black lines coming from the bullet wound, but it was different from what Stiles had seen when Scott had taken his pain away. They hadn't told Stiles a lot of information about the hunters yet since they had been focusing on his Guardian tasks, so he had no idea what was happening. "Don't go Derek."

He choked back a sob as he leaned forward and kissed Derek in desperation. Nothing happened and he leaned his forehead against Derek's as he started sobbing loudly. It was all his fault. If he hadn't come to observe the pack then the hunters never would have caught wind of the pack gaining a Guardian again and they probably would have left them alone. Stiles was supposed to be protecting the pack, not becoming the reason as to why they got wiped out.

A sudden grumble startled him and Derek's lips started moving. "Th-the bullet. I n-need the b-bullet."

Stiles all but flung himself off of Derek to grab the woman's gun. He took out the magazine and grabbed one of the bullets before crawling back to Derek. The werewolf started motioning with his hands for Stiles to open the bullet and pour out the insides. He hands were shaking as he managed to pop open the bullet and poured the blue-purple powder into his hands. "B-burn it."

"Burn it? I don't- I don't have anything to burn it Derek..."

"Just believe. I kn-know you can."

Derek's voice was getting weaker and Stiles resolutely looked at the powder in his hands. He just had to believe. This was something that he had read. This was something that Peter had told him that Guardians were able to do. But he didn't know if he could. Stiles wasn't even officially the Guardian of the pack yet. Sure, he had made up his mind already, but that didn't mean he was able to do things that only seasoned Guardians were able to pull off.

Just believe. All he had to do was believe. Stiles closed his eyes and starting chanting in his mind that he believed that he was able to light the powder. That he believed he would be able to save Derek. He snapped his eyes open when he heard a fizz and saw that the powder had actually lit on fire. He let out an elated whoop before turning to see that Derek was all but out of it again.

Stiles shoved the burnt powder into Derek's wound and fell back on his ass when the Alpha screamed in pain and started writhing on the ground. It took a few seconds before the bullet was forced out and the wound started to close. Stiles leaned over Derek, running his fingers over the spot where the bullet wound had been.

His eyes snapped to the side when Derek sat up. Their faces were so close. Stiles stared at Derek, who still looked like an Adonis even with his hair sticking up everywhere and dirt all over his face. They just stared at each other before Stiles inched closer. Derek's kaleidoscope eyes flicked down to his lips before he moved closer too.

Just before their lips met Derek's head jerked to the side and he ran off, with Cora and Boyd dashing right after him. Stiles was about to call after him when he heard people calling out his name. Danny came from between the trees with a rifle in his arms, looking relieved when he saw Stiles.

The Ranger grabbed a walkie talkie from his belt and started talking into it. "Stefan, I found Stiles. He looks ruffled up and there are unconscious hunters here. You need to get the medical team over here stat." Danny walked over to Stiles and kneeled down in front of him. "It's okay. We'll take care of this now."

 

 

 

 

 

It took two days before Stiles was able to make his way back to the forest. Those two days had been filled with hospitals visits, giving his statement to the Rangers and the local police force and convincing his dad that he didn't have to drive up to Oregon to make sure that Stiles was okay.

With his testimony about how the woman, Kate, had gloated about killing the other half of the pack all those years ago and the fact that she and her hunters were poaching and carrying illegal weapons, it was more than enough to put them away. It turned out that they had outstanding warrants in other states as well, so Stiles wasn't worried that he or the pack or any other pack were going to see her for a very long time.

He convinced Stefan that he was well enough to take the ATV out to the cabin to collect his things.

He drove over to the den after that and within seconds the pack was surrounding him. "Calm down you crazy kids! I'm alright!" Stiles chuckled as he pushed Scott off of him to get him to stop licking his face.

After he managed to push his way through the wolves he walked over to where Derek was sitting in his usual spot in front of the den. He sat down in front of the wolf with a groan before he started talking.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault that the hunters came back. If I had been any other person then they would have let you be, but I come from a line of Guardians and I was a threat, so they saw it fit to get rid of me and you guys as well. I was so scared. So fucking scared Derek. Not only was I still confused about the whole Guardian thing and how it fit into my life, but suddenly I was faced with a life and death situation! This entire time I was thinking that I wouldn't be fit to be the Guardian of your pack, but that night showed me that I'm willing to do anything for the pack. That I'm willing to do anything for you." Stiles looked up from where he had been staring at the ground to see that Derek had shifted into his human form.

One of the corners of his mouth twitched as it looked like he was trying to keep from smiling. "Shut up Stiles. Have I ever told you that you talk too much?" With that said, Derek leaned forward and pressed his lips against Stiles'. Stiles groaned and wrapped his arms around Derek's neck, pulling him closer to kiss him deeper and ignoring the excited noises coming from the other wolves behind him.

 

 

 

 

 

Epilogue (a year later)

"Whoa, calm down there you two." Stiles chuckled as two young wolf cubs ran up to him as soon as he came into view. He kneeled down to pet the two dark brown cubs, chuckling as they tried to climb all over him to lick at his face. A soft huff made the two stop and they stumbled back over to their mother who looked exasperated. Stiles got up again and gave Erica a wink as walked into the den.

A little over half a year ago Erica had given birth to the first cubs since Isaac had been born more than nineteen years ago. Lizzy and Connor were the pride of the pack and it was hard not to dote on them. Even grumpy Uncle Derek couldn't help himself.

Speaking of the Alpha, Derek immediately shifted when he saw Stiles approaching and he pulled Stiles into a very enthusiastic and passionate kiss as soon as he got his hands on him. Stiles grinned. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"Two weeks is too long. I hate that you're not always here." Derek ducked his face into Stiles' neck and started scenting him. It was hard with the distance sometimes.

Stiles still had to go back to Beacon Hills to help his dad run the preserve and driving three hours every weekend was impossible, not to mention expensive. So Stiles made a compromise with Derek that he would come by every two weeks. He agreed that it was a long time to be apart from each other, he felt the distance every day as well, but they didn't have any other choice.

"Right. Regarding that bump in our relationship..." Stiles paused until Derek removed his face from his neck and looked up at him. "So I got this offer from the Oregon Wildlife Services. They want to hire me to research and document your pack so they can see how you're adapting because they want to try and introduce wolves to the south of state with the hope they might migrate into California eventually."

Derek looked at him with wide eyes before he smiled brightly. Stiles chuckled happily and leaned forward to kiss Derek again, but he was interrupted when Scott jumped on him in human form and started whooping happily. Within seconds more bodies joined Scott and they all fell to the ground.

Stiles and Derek were squished together as the pack celebrated. "Hey there Sourwolf."

"Hello my Guardian."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Join me on tumblr [flashthroughlight](http://flashthroughlight.tumblr.com/)!


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